“All e-commerce platforms are hereby advised to refrain from selling or facilitating sale of any kind of wireless jammers,” the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) wrote in an advisory dated April 29, 2022. The consumer watchdog also warned that it may initiate action under the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, if it finds that e-commerce platforms are facilitating the sale of such jammers. The CCPA reasoned that these jammers were capable of disrupting “authorised telecom and wireless networks”. [caption id="attachment_160883" align="alignnone" width="880"] Source: Amazon[/caption] “Sale and use of any wireless device without authorization/licence under the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885, or Indian Wireless Telegraphy Act (IWTA) 1933, unless exempted by rules, is illegal. Jammers come under the purview of IWTA, 1933 and the Act lays down that licence is required for possession and use of jammers," read the advisory. The sale of jammers is allowed only under exceptional circumstances and needs to be authorised by the Secretary (Security), Cabinet Secretariat, the CCPA added. The advisory needs to be taken seriously because jammers are said to cause interference with signals from towers, thereby affecting the overall quality of cellular networks. Telecom networks play a crucial role in connecting India's critical infrastructure and can pose security risks if not kept in check. A look at DoT’s advisory in January The CCPA revealed that it decided to act in conjunction with the advisory issued by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) on January 21, 2022. What is CCPA? The Central Consumer Protection…
